[pct-l] Musical instruments on the trail

[jonnylv at earthlink.net (Jon)]

Hi,

I'm a musician as well and have thought about bringing an instrument at times.  My first instrument is piano.  Being a little picky about sound and keyboard action, a little electronic keyboard is not a good choice and a grand piano is out of the question - unless I got extremely rich and hired porters.  A piano is a pretty much a non-starter.
I play guitar as well.  I brought one on a camping trip, but nobody was interested in listening to me play (sniff, sniff). 

I kind of like the "found music" along the trail.  I can listen to the sound of water in a stream for hours.  At sunrise I love to hear the sound of the bird's morning chorus.  Up in the high mountains I love the calls of pikas and marmots.  I'm happy to be an audience member.

If I'm driving around in the mountains I usually have Beethoven cranked up on the stereo.  I've tried other things - some bluegrass, jazz, folk, my favorite rock band- but Beethoven seems to be the best thing for me.  6th Symphony is the best, but I have some other favorites as well.  I've never hiked with music on.

When we decide to have music, personally I think it's important to respect the space one is in and others around.  A couple of stories - not trail stories exactly:  I was at Yosemite in the valley, just back from a hike up to Vernal Falls.  When I go back to my car there was a hippie (I use the word in an affectionate way: really) couple getting ready to make dinner.  The food wasn't cooked yet but they were already pretty fried.  They had some reggae playing pretty loudly and were dancing as they were getting a grill going and cutting up some fish and vegetables.  Periodically they'd dance out into the parking lot to get a view of Half Dome as the sun was getting lower in the sky.  I've had good friends over the years who were a lot like that, although I can't say that I'd do the same thing.  Just not me, exactly - uptight northern midwesterner.  We talked briefly, sharing how beatiful we thought the evening was.  They bed me peace as I drove off.  I ended up at the turnout at Inspiration Point to watch the sunset over the valley.  Some people pulled up in a conversion van and didn't even park in a space, instead getting as close to the overlook itself as they could.  The sliding door opened and really loud New Age music blasted out.  The three people in the van got out and sat on the overlook.  It wasn't too long before someone asked them to turn it down.  That was followed by five or six others chiming in.  Dejected, the individual who seemed to think that it would be perfect to crank it up, went to a far corner of the overlook with a CD walkman and listened by herself.  Not everybody shares the same sense of peace as she did.  They didn't hang around too long.  I sat there for a long time and watched as the sun set and the sky darkened, music playing in my head the whole time.  I was the last one there that evening.

Jon


-----Original Message-----
From: Alan Julliard <atjulliard@yahoo.com>
Sent: Jan 17, 2005 12:02 PM
To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] Musical instruments on the trail

>Anybody ever try carrying a Native American type
flute >on the trail?
>
>I play guitar, but find the idea of packing even the
>lighter "backpacking" guitars to be the equivalent of
>a mouse carrying a grand piano - one or the other is
>bound to get hurt at some point.
>
>Harmonicas are lightweight, but oh so tricky to play
>with any sense of dignity. (I was hoping I'd end up
>the next Howard Levy, but it just ain't so.)
>
>That leaves the kazoo, the juice harp, and of course
>the hand flute. A hand flute musician - technically
>called a manualist (seriously! there's a guy from PA
>who plays an amazing set of hands) - has the ultimate
>in lightweight, packable entertainment. But most
>amateur hand-fluters have trouble with pitch and
>possess a notable lack of range.
>
>So we're back to the Native American flute. The
higher 
>pitched models are relatively small, and hollowed
>cedar or mahogany keeps them light. Again,
deceptively >tricky to play with any degree of
integrity, and >pretty squirrely on tone without "the
right stuff." >But beautiful if you happen to know
what you're doing. >And perfect, I would think, for
the wilderness.
>
>Anyone?

  One of the guys I hiked with picked up an ordinary
guitar in Oregon at a pawn shop and carried it the
rest of the way.  He would play every night in camp. 
Now there are a variety of guitars meant to be packed.
 My favorite place is http://larkinthemorning.com. 
Lark in the Morning has hundreds of wind instruments
that are easy to take along in addition to packable
guitars.
  I took up the mandolin long ago because it was so
easy to pack anywhere.  I also play saxophone, hand
drums and penny whistle.  I started the whistle for a
hike of England's Thames Path, a 200 mile easy stroll
through English countryside and history.  The whistle
was very appropriate for that trip but it is also very
lightweight and easy to learn.  I was able to walk and
play at the same time with no problem.  I also have a
low whistle (think Riverdance) which is simply a
bigger version of the the penny whistle.  I will be
carrying it in the spring plus a small book of Irish
tunes.  I also have a very cool instument called the
Maui Xaphoon which is a reed instrument billed as a
pocket sax though it sounds more like a clarinet. 
Most hand drummers practice their craft by simply
slapping their legs or whatever is available; this is
also easy to do while walking.  I have not tried any
native flutes though I used to play flute a long time
ago.
  It was not long ago in America that musicians
traveled across the country by foot, wagon, horse,
train, etc. carrying their instruments with them. 
Woody Guthrie was my hero when I hiked the PCT and a
fine example of someone who always had his music with
him.  We should do it more ourselves.  Someday I want
to walk from Atlantic to Pacific, carrying my sax with
me (5 - 6 pounds) , marching along while playing the
blues or Souza or Ellington or whatever pops into my
head.

Alan


		
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